Few island nations have stirred the soul like Cuba. From Hemingway's intoxicating Havana to Ry Cooder's Buena Vista Social Club, outsiders have persistently been fascinated by Cuba for its music (jazz to rumba), its rich literature, its art and dance (danzon to mambo) and perhaps above all for its bold experiment of a socialist revolution in action. Antoni Kapcia shows how the thaw in relations between Cuba and the USA now makes a fresh appraisal of the country and its modern history essential. He authoritatively explores the `essence' of the Cuban revolution, revealing it to be a maverick phenomenon tied not so much to socialism or Communism for their own sakes but instead to an idealistic vision of postcolonial nationalism. Reassessing the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, the author examines the central personalities: not just the famous trio of Che Guevara, Fidel and Raul Castro in shaping the ideas of the revolution but, still further back, the visionary ideology of Jose Marti. Kapcia's book reflects on the future of the revolution as Raul and his government begin to cede power to a new generation.

At 21:00 on 9 May 1940 Codeword Danzig was issued alerting Adolf Hitler's airborne troops that they were about to spearhead an attack on Belgium and the Netherlands. The following day his blitzkrieg rolled forward striking the British Expeditionary Force and the French armies in Belgium and in northern France at Sedan. The desperate attempts of the allied armies to stem the Nazi tide proved futile and, once their reserves had been exhausted and the remaining forces cut off, Paris lay open. By early June, it was all over - trapped British, Belgian and French troops were forced to evacuate Dunkirk, Calais and Boulogne and the defeated French army agreed to an armistice leaving the country divided in two. This dramatic story is shown in a sequence of over 150 historic photographs that Anthony Tucker-Jones he has selected for this memorable book. The images he has chosen cover every aspect of this extraordinary campaign, but his main focus is on the vital role played by the armoured fighting vehicles of both sides. The book is a graphic record of the destruction wrought by the Wehrmacht's lightning offensive through the Low Countries and France.

The war story that needs to be told: a Washington Post reporter follows five courageous National Guard soldiers as they deploy to Iraq, survive combat, and come home to pick up the pieces The Iraq War radically transformed the typical "one weekend a month, two weeks a year" commitment of many National Guard soldiers around the country into lengthy, grueling tours of duty in Iraq. Little has been written about the tens of thousands of guardsmen and women sent to Iraq and the unique challenges these citizen-soldiers have faced in serving their country--and then coming home to the civilian world. Washington Post reporter Christian Davenport was embedded with the Virginia National Guard's 2-224th Aviation Regiment and witnessed the hardship and heroism of its members firsthand, from their sudden call-up, through their return from overseas, to new battles faced on the home front as they struggle to rebuild their lives after the war. He tells the story of five of these remarkable soldiers--a teacher, a 50-something Vietnam vet, a sorority-girl-turned-door-gunner, a born leader, and a young woman unable to find her place in the world. By continuing to follow these soldiers, and their families, for more than a year after their tour, Davenport chronicles the difficulties they face returning home: lost jobs, financial woes, and the inability to relate to a society that has never been so divorced from the war its country was fighting. Depicting these soldiers as heroes, not victims, As You Were reveals a hidden dimension of the war, and provides an intimate look at the patriotism and courage that inspire those who have fought in it--and the rest of us as well. Christian Davenport (Washington, DC) is a reporter for the Washington Post. He was embedded with the Virginia National Guard's 2-224th Regiment, and his work covering the military helped uncover some of the iconic photographs of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

This book examines the complex practice of counter-insurgency warfare through the prism of British military experiences in the post-war era and endeavours to unpack their performance. During the twentieth century counter-insurgency assumed the status of one of the British military's fortes. A wealth of asymmetric warfare experience was accumulated after the Second World War as the small wars of decolonisation offered the army of a fading imperial power many opportunities to deploy against an irregular enemy. However, this quantity of experience does not translate into quality. This book argues that the British, far from being exemplars of counter-insurgency, have in fact consistently proved to be slow learners in counter-insurgency warfare. This book presents an analysis of the most significant British counter-insurgency campaigns of the past 60 years: Malaya (1948-60), Kenya (1952-60), South Arabia (1962-67), the first decade of the Northern Irish 'Troubles' (1969-79), and the recent British counter-insurgency campaign in southern Iraq (2003-09). Colonial history is used to contextualise the contemporary performance in Iraq and undermine the commonly held confidence in British counter-insurgency. Blending historical research with critical analysis, this book seeks to establish a new paradigm through which to interpret and analyse the British approach to counter-insurgency, as well as considering the mythology of inherent British competence in the realm of irregular warfare. It will be of interest to students of counter-insurgency, military history, strategic studies, security studies, and IR in general.

The first two volumes of the History of the Panzerwaffe have described how the Germans transformed armoured warfare from a lumbering and ponderous experiment in World War I into something that could decide the outcome of conflicts, and how the legendary Panzerwaffe overran Western Europe and reached the gates of Moscow to the east, before taking its place in the forefront of German defence from the D-Day landings to the valiant last stand in Berlin. This third volume focuses on the most important units in the Panzerwaffe, and some of the most famous units in the history of warfare: the Panzer Divisions. It details their pre-war origins and how they developed over the course of the war, covering all the specialized units and how they operated on the battlefield. The title is illustrated throughout with many rare and previously unpublished images and the text draws heavily on original German documents.

The Battle of the Bulge took the Allied armies by surprise in 1944\. It was a result of the extraordinary recovery of Hitler's panzer divisions following crushing defeats on the Eastern and Western fronts. In a daring offensive he hoped his panzers would unhinge the American and British push on the Rhine by charging through the Schnee Eifel, thereby prolonging the war. The consequence was one of the best-known battles of the entire conflict, and Anthony Tucker-Jones's photographic history is the ideal introduction to it. The story is told through a sequence of revealing contemporary photographs and a concise text. They give a sharp insight into the planning and decision-making, the armoured forces involved, the terrain and the appalling mid-winter conditions, the front-line fighting and the experience of the troops involved. The armoured battle, which was critical to the outcome, is the main focus. Through a massive tank offensive the Germans aimed to cut through the US 1st Army to Antwerp and Brussels, in the process trapping three Allied armies. The confusion and near collapse of the Americans as their defences were overrun is vividly recorded in the photographs, as is their resistance and recovery as the German spearheads were slowed, then stopped.

Created from what was left of the gigantic stockpiles of Soviet armoured fighting vehicles after the end of the Cold War, the Russian armoured forces were reorganized in the early 1990s. Ground forces were involved in a series of conflicts in border states, nationalistic insurrections of minorities following the end of the Soviet Union, and the lifting of its iron fist on these regions. From Chechnya to the Crimea to the Ukraine, Modern Russian Tanks explores the main battle tanks, armoured fighting vehicles, armoured personnel carriers, self- propelled guns and missile-launching platforms in service since 1990. Organised by type and then alphabetically by manufacturer, the entries include the BMD-3, BMPT Terminator, T-90 and T-15 main battle tank, and their variants, as well as the Buk missile system responsible for shooting down the Malaysian Airlines 777 jet over Ukraine in 2014. Illustrated with expert colour profile artworks for each entry and completed with technical specifications, Modern Russian Tanks is a detailed reference guide for modellers and enthusiasts with an interest in modern military technology.

The German Panther is one of the most famous, and greatest, tanks of World War II. Often considered the most elegant tank design of the war, it embodied a balance of firepower, armour protection, and mobility unmatched by any other tank of the period. This new study by German armour expert Thomas Anderson draws upon original German archival material to tell the story of the birth of the Panther in response to the Soviet tanks encountered in 1941. He then analyzes its success on the battlefield and the many modifications and variants that also came into play. Illustrated throughout with rare photographs and drawings, many of which have never been published in English before, this is a unique history of one of the most famous tanks of World War II.

Sure to be found controversial by some, compelling by all, this is the only available book-length examination of the way the U.S. Army and Department of Defense have tried to create the capabilities promised by the high-tech Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA). Of more immediate concern, it is also the only in-depth account of the effect RMA and transformation concepts had on the American operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many of the problems in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Adams argues, arose from the DoD's implacable desire to implement RMA-driven transformation concepts-whether they were appropriate or not. What we need to do, he maintains, is to fight the war we have, not the war we want. Over the last several decades, military theorists and others began to believe that new technologies were generating a "revolution in military affairs" (RMA), capabilities so revolutionary that they would redefine warfare. Spurred by these beliefs, and led by President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the Department of Defense (DoD) set out to transform the U.S. armed forces by adopting RMA concepts-and spending billions to make the hypothetical capabilities real. The entire structure of the armed forces changed as a result. This vision, however, was totally dependent on a set of unproven suppositions and often nonexistent capabilities, especially a network of information technologies. Moreover, the services, the media, Congress, and industry each had its own agenda, all of which continue to come into play in the development of RMA strategies. The interplay of politics, technology and military reality offers a fascinating narrative.

The idea of British soldiers using American tanks was not viewed with a great deal of enthusiasm by the British Army. They perceived American tanks as being crudely made, mechanically unsophisticated and impossible to fight in. However, once British crews got used to them and learned to cope with some of their difficulties, such as limited fuel capacity and unfamiliar fighting techniques, they started to see them in a far more positive light, in particular their innate reliability and simplicity of maintenance.

This book, the last in a three-part series on British Battle Tanks by armour expert David Fletcher, concentrates on World War II and studies American tanks in British service, some of which were modified in ways peculiar to the British. It shows how the number of these tanks increased to the point that they virtually dominated, as well describing some types, such as the T14 and M26 Pershing, which were supplied but never used in British service.

Written by a leading authority on Roman military history, this fascinating volume spans over a thousand years as it offers a memorable picture of one of the world's most noted fighting forces, paying special attention to the life of the common soldier.
Southern here illuminates the Roman army's history, culture, and organization, providing fascinating details on topics such as military music, holidays, strategy, the construction of Roman fortresses and forts, the most common battle formations, and the many tools of war, from spears, bows and arrows, swords, and slingshots, to the large catapulta (which fired giant arrows and bolts) and the ballista (which hurled huge stones). Perhaps most interesting are the details Southern provides about everyday life in the Roman army, everything from the soldiers pay (they were paid three times per year, but money was deducted for such items as food, clothing, weapons, the burial club, the pension scheme, and so on) to their often brutal life--if whole units turned and ran, about one-tenth of the men concerned were chosen by lot and clubbed to death and the rest were put on barley rations instead of wheat. Moreover, soldiers who lost weapons or their shields would fight savagely to get them back or would die in the process, rather than suffer the shame that attached to throwing weapons away or running from the battle.
Attractively illustrated, this book offers a fascinating look at the life of the Roman soldier, drawing on everything from Rome's rich historical and archaeological record to soldier's personal correspondence to depictions of military subjects in literature and art.

With production in excess of 55,000 the Sherman tank was eventually in service with most Allied armies of the Second World War and by the time of the Normandy landings was the mainstay of Britain's armoured battalions. In his second book in the TankCraft series, Dennis Oliver uses wartime photos and extensively researched, exquisitely presented colour illustrations to cover the Sherman tanks used by the units of the Royal Armoured Corps and the Royal Marines during the fighting in northern France. As with all the books in the TankCraft series, a large part of this work showcases available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of beautifully constructed and painted models in various scales. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also explained as is the complex system of markings employed by British armoured regiments. This book will give the modeller all the information and knowledge required to recreate an authentic miniature representation of the tanks that fought from the beaches of Normandy, through the battles for Caen and on to killing fields of Falaise.

The Panzers that rolled over Europe were Germany's most famous fighting force, and are some of the most enduring symbols of World War II. However, at the start of the war, Germany's tanks were nothing extraordinary and it was operational encounters such as facing the Soviet T-34 during Operation Barbarossa which prompted their intensive development. Tactical innovation gave them an edge where technological development had not, making Hitler's tanks a formidable enemy.

Hitler's Tanks details the development and operational history of the light Panzer I and II, developed in the 1930s, the medium tanks that were the backbone of the Panzer Divisions, the Tiger, and the formidable King Tiger, the heaviest tank to see combat in World War II. Drawing on Osprey's unique and extensive armour archive, Chris McNab skilfully weaves together the story of the fearsome tanks that transformed armoured warfare and revolutionised land warfare forever.

The end of the Cold War brought about dramatic changes in the militaries across Europe. The armed forces of former Communist European countries have undergone a double transition: the move to market-based liberal democracies and a rapid movement towards a radically different relationship with the civilian population. NATO has also played a leading role in the change process for the former Eastern Bloc. This book aims to give students a broad introduction to the military's role in the post-Cold War Europe.

While World War I introduced the world to modern warfare, it was World War II that saw the onset and use of motorized vehicles in combat. This volume presents a cross-section of the most common transport vehicles produced and used by the German army. Tanks plus auxiliary vehicles such as cars, motorcycles, vans, ambulances, trucks and tractors made it possible for the troops to keep moving. These lightly armored or unarmored vehicles - aka ""soft skins"" - operated behind the front lines, maintaining supply lines, connecting armies with their home bases, and ultimately determining the outcome of battle. Beginning with the development of military vehicles in the early 1930s, this volume discusses the ways in which this new technology influenced and, to some extent, facilitated Hitler's program of rearmament. Nomenclature, standard equipment, camouflage and the combat roles of the various vehicles are thoroughly examined. Individual vehicle types are arranged and discussed by the following classifications: cars and motorcycles; trucks and tractors; half-tracks and wheeled combat vehicles. Accompanied by well-researched, detailed line drawings, each section deals with a number of individual vehicles, describing their design, manufacture and specific use.

A history of the early medieval German Armies from the fragmentation of Charlemagne's Frankish Empire to the rise of the German, or Holy Roman Empire. This text looks in detail at the period of the Saxon wars and the Crusades including the rise of the Teutonic Knights. From the religious and political strife that rocked Germany in the early 11th century to civil war, campaigns in Italy and Henry IV's brief capture of Rome, and the successes of the Teutonic Knights and the Ministeriales - the serf-knights.

America's wars after the 9/11 attacks were marked by a political obsession with terrorist 'sanctuaries' and 'safe havens'. From mountain redoubts in Afghanistan to the deserts of Iraq, Washington's policy-makers maintained an unwavering focus on finding and destroying the refuges, bases and citadels of modern guerrilla movements, and holding their sponsors to account. This was a preoccupation embedded in nearly every official speech and document of the time, a corpus of material that offered a new logic for thinking about the world. As an exercise in political communication, it was a spectacular success. From 2001 to 2009, President George W. Bush and his closest advisors set terms of reference that cascaded down from the White House, through government and into the hearts and minds of Americans. 'Sanctuary' was the red thread running through all of it, permeating the decisions and discourses of the day. Where did this obsession come from? How did it become such an important feature of American political life? In this new political history, Michael A.K.G. Innes explores precedents, from Saigon to Baghdad, and traces how decision-makers and their advisors used ideas of sanctuary to redefine American foreign policy, national security, and enemies real and imagined.

Waged across an inhospitable terrain which varied from open African savannah to broken mountain country and arid semi-desert, the Anglo-Boer wars of 1880-81 and 1899-1902 pitted the British Army and its allies against the Boers' commandos. The nature of warfare across these campaigns was shaped by the realities of the terrain and by Boer fighting techniques. Independent and individualistic, the Boers were not professional soldiers but a civilian militia who were bound by the terms of the 'Commando system' to come together to protect their community against an outside threat. By contrast the British Army was a full-time professional body with an established military ethos, but its over-dependence on conventional infantry tactics led to a string of Boer victories. This fully illustrated study examines the evolving nature of Boer military techniques, and contrasts them with the British experience, charting the development of effective British mounted tactics from the first faltering steps of 1881 through to the final successes of 1902.

This book, the last in a four-part series on British Battle Tanks covering the whole history of British armoured warfare, concentrates on those vehicles that have served following the end of World War II up to the present day. Starting with the Centurion, the title explores those types that equipped the armoured divisions lined up on the German plains to resist any potential Soviet offensive, as well as in Korea and Suez, including the Chieftain and Conqueror, and modern tanks such as the Challenger 2 which are still in service today. Covering the many variants of these and other tanks in British service as well as their deployments around the world, including in Afghanistan and Iraq, this illustrated volume is a comprehensive guide to the development of British tanks since the Second World War.

In April 1941, as Churchill strove to counter the German threat to the Balkans, New Zealand troops were hastily committed to combat in the wake of the German invasion of Greece where they would face off against the German Kradschutzen - motorcycle troops. Examining three major encounters in detail with the help of maps and contemporary photographs, this lively study shows how the New Zealanders used all their courage and ingenuity to counter the mobile and well-trained motorcycle forces opposing them in the mountains and plains of Greece and Crete. Featuring specially commissioned artwork and drawing upon first-hand accounts, this exciting account pits New Zealand's infantrymen against Germany's motorcycle troops at the height of World War II in the Mediterranean theatre, assessing the origins, doctrine and combat performance of both sides.

In Clouds of Glory: The Life and Legend of Robert E. Lee, Michael Korda, the New York Times bestselling biographer of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ulysses S. Grant, and T. E. Lawrence, has written the first major biography of Lee in nearly twenty years, bringing to life one of America's greatest, most iconic heroes. Korda paints a vivid and admiring portrait of Lee as a general and a devoted family man who, though he disliked slavery and was not in favor of secession, turned down command of the Union army in 1861 because he could not "draw his sword" against his own children, his neighbors, and his beloved Virginia. He was surely America's preeminent military leader, as calm, dignified, and commanding a presence in defeat as he was in victory. Lee's reputation has only grown in the 150 years since the Civil War, and Korda covers in groundbreaking detail all of Lee's battles and traces the making of a great man's undeniable reputation on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line, positioning him finally as the symbolic martyr-hero of the Southern Cause. Clouds of Glory features dozens of stunning illustrations, some never before seen, including eight pages of color, sixteen pages of black-and-white, and nearly fifty battle maps.

In the 1840s, post-Napoleonic Italy was 'a geographical expression' - not a country, but a patchwork of states, divided between the Austrian-occupied north, and a Spanish-descended Bourbon monarchy, who ruled the south from Naples. Two decades later, it was a nation united under a single king and government, thanks largely to the efforts of the Kings of Sardinia and Piedmont, and the revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi. This book, the first of a two-part series on the armies that fought in the Italian Wars of Unification, examines the Piedmontese and Neapolitan armies that fought in the north and south of the peninsula. Illustrated with prints, early photos and detailed commissioned artwork, this book explores the history, organization, and appearance of the armies that fought to unite the Italian peninsula under one flag.

The Second World War is a favorite for modelers, and this comprehensive guide to techniques suitable for 1/72, 1/48 and 1/35 scale tank models will be invaluable to modelers wanting to recreate the iconic tanks of this conflict. From the Russian T-34 at the time of the battle of Kursk, and Su-152 in winter camoflague, to the German Panzer I in North Africa, and the gigantic Maus, as it might have appeared just after the war ended, this book offers a wealth of detail into the necessary tools, paints and techniques to perfect a realistic finish.